Anna Sawai on her emotional Emmys win, similarities between her 'repressed' “Pachinko ”and “Shōgun ”characters

The newly-minted Emmy winner talks highlights from the ceremony and her arc on season 2 of her other sweeping historical epic, "Pachinko."

Anna Sawai is a few days removed from her historic Emmys win, but she’s still very much trying to process it.

“I feel like I don't really understand it quite yet, especially when I hear the words ‘historic’ or ‘first,’” she tells Entertainment Weekly over Zoom from Australia, where she’s filming season 2 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

At the ceremony, Sawai became the first Asian woman to win Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her breakout role as Lady Mariko in historical epic Shōgun. Making her way to the stage, an overcome Sawai — who had already been an emotional wreck all day — wept. 

Related: Shōgun stars Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada, Emmy nomination predictions, and more in EW's The Awardist

“I think it was just wanting it for the team and being so proud, but also not knowing if the nominees were going to win,” she says of her emotions. “And it's not about winning or anything, but I guess because it was my first Emmys, I was just like, oh my God. I'm so nervous. I want this for everyone.”

The biggest ceremony highlight? “Getting a compliment from Kathy Bates on the carpet was so huge for me because I love her work. She is such an amazing actress, obviously, and for her to have seen our show and to even know me was just mind-boggling.”

When Shōgun returns for season 2, it’ll be glaringly Sawai-less following Lady Mariko’s fatal sacrifice in season 1’s penultimate episode. But hey, Hollywood is known to get creative with character deaths. Has Sawai heard anything about season 2...?

“People always joke about it,” she says. “They're like, 'You can be a ghost, or the evil twin sister.' But honestly, if it were up to me, I wouldn't try to bring her back. Why ruin something that was so perfect? If we force it into the material, it's going to feel like that. People die and life goes on. For them to move on and see what happens to Toranaga and Blackthorne, I’m excited for that.”

Those looking to fill the Sawai void will be elated to know she currently stars in another sweeping historical epic: Pachinko, showrunner Soo Hugh’s stirring adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s novel centered on four generations of the Korean immigrant Baek family, beginning in 1915 Japan-annexed Korea and moving across World War II and the years after. Sawai plays Naomi, a Japanese colleague and love interest of Jin Ha’s Solomon, the current generation of the Baeks.

Related: Pachinko showrunner previews Noa's 'shattering' arc this season: 'That kid had to bear so much'

“The fact that she's not even in the book, yet Soo wanted to include a Japanese woman and show the beauty of her and the ugliness of the world and how she navigates that meant a lot,” says Sawai. “I loved the book. I also talked to my mom after I booked it, and she had so much to say about her experience in the '80s. I was like, I need to tell this story.” Below, more from Sawai about her season 2 arc.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I’ve observed some parallels between Naomi and Lady Mariko. They’re both strong-willed women, caught in circumstances with men who use them as pawns in their games.

ANNA SAWAI: I think the similarities are that they're Japanese. Every Japanese woman I know has [these women] in them. It's not easy in Japan being a woman. I still feel like they're very behind when it comes to feminism and equality. I know a lot of people are going to get mad at me for saying that. But I think it's just what Japanese women carry, and how they feel like they're not allowed to [speak out], even though they're feeling it so strongly, and not having the support. We see that it's the women supporting the women in Japan. What can they do if half of their country are men and they're not willing to be as open? So what we see in Naomi and Mariko is that they are repressed. They have an opinion and they're so strong, but they're having to navigate this male-dominant society not in their favor.

How do you view Naomi’s relationship with Solomon? He’s so bleh, which of course is a testament to Jin’s performance. 

I was about to say, “F— that guy.” Well, after what he decides to do, I don’t have much great things to say. But! They are supportive of each other because they know what it feels like to not be looked at as an equal, to have to work twice as hard in order to be at the same place and get the same opportunities as the Japanese men, all of that. They understand it. I think it's so important to be with someone who understands your struggles and values you as a whole. Solomon is that for her. And so in some ways I really want them to work, but in other ways I'm just like, yeah, it's not the most healthy relationship.

Related: Pachinko remains a time-hopping treasure in its masterful second season

In a recent episode, you prepare a meal with the incomparable Yuh-jung Youn. What was it like working with her?

She is so amazing. We never knew when she was going to [get into character]. It's so natural. She's just being Sunja and seeing her embody the character so much that the actor can't tell is on another level. She's so subtle [and] real that it allows you to be that way. If someone's acting really big around me, I tend to reflect that, too. With her, I felt like I could just relax, not even think about acting. So I was trying to take everything in from her, watching her eat. It was such a joy. And it was fun because Naomi is supposed to be bad at cutting, but I was the best cutter in the room.

What can you tease about Naomi’s journey and where we’ll find her by the finale?

The thing I love about season 2 is we get to see her outside of the office and see her create this personal bond with Solomon, but we also get to see the ugly side of her upbringing — not the ugly side, but the unfortunate stuff. Her family wants something, society is pressuring her to do something, and she wants something else. So all these elements pulling her away and the choices that she has to make are not just for her own happiness. And then after all of that, going back to the office and seeing how cruel the company is towards her because she makes one mistake, whereas if this were a guy, it would be a completely different story. So we get to see the realities of 1980s corporate industry and it's very heartbreaking. But it's also empowering because she's not going to be kicked down and end there. There's still something within her. She's going to stand up.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

New episodes of Pachinko release Fridays on Apple TV+.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.